If 2016 was the year businesses became aware of digital transformation, 2017 is the year that these businesses begin to equip themselves for that disruption.

In its second annual digital transformation report conducted by IDC Canada, SAP Canada drew the conclusion that despite the fact that Canadian organizations are aware of digital transformation, the majority have yet to act on it. Out of the 300 Canadian executives surveyed, SAP found that only about four out of 10 are enacting these digital transformation practices. The rest are still in the planning stages, despite the vast majority of those surveyed indicating an awareness of digital transformation possibilities.

“There is no question that executives are having a sense of urgency now. They want to do something before they get distrupted themselves,” said SAP Canada vice president, head of industry, Sam Masri in an interview with ITBusiness.ca. “The main reason why they aren’t moving fast enough seems to be because of execution and productivity challenges. Digital transformation is hard. It’s a painful process. A lot of people are still trying to digest what it means for their business.”

Keep reading for highlights from the report.

Canadian executives are aware of digital transformation, but the real transformation hasn’t started yet.

- 38 per cent of executives are rolling out their digital transformation strategies
- 50 per cent are planning and building their digital transformation strategy
- 12 per cent are still trying to determine their digital transformation plan

Disconnect between front-line employees and executives on digital transformation.

On whether those surveyed agree that the ‘CEO and board have digital innovation on management agenda’.

Mid-sized companies are slower on the draw than their enterprise counterparts.

Mid-sized organizations are less likely to have developed a digital mindset strategy and say that digital innovation is on the management agenda. However, mid-sized businesses have a greater cloud adoption of cloud computing as a way to innovate.

- 31 per cent of companies with $250 – $500 million in revenue have taken steps on the digital transformation path
- 38 per cent of companies with $500 million – $1 billion in revenue have taken steps on the digital transformation path
- 54 per cent of companies with $1 billion plus in revenue have taken steps on the digital transformation path